Interpolation of discount factors

This paper deals with the problem of interpolation of discount factors between time buckets. The problem occurs when price and interest rate data of a market segment are assigned to discrete time buckets. A simple criterion is developed in order to identify arbitrage-free robust interpolation methods. Methods closely examined include linear, exponential and weighted exponential interpolation. Weighted exponential interpolation, a method still preferred by some banks and also offered by commercial software vendors, creates several problems and therefore makes simple exponential interpolation a more logical choice. Linear interpolation provides a good approximation of exponential interpolation for a sufficiently dense time grid. --

Interpolation of discount factors

This paper deals with the problem of interpolation of discount factors between time buckets. The problem occurs when price and interest rate data of a market segment are assigned to discrete time buckets. A simple criterion is developed in order to identify arbitrage-free robust interpolation methods. Methods closely examined include linear, exponential and weighted exponential interpolation. Weighted exponential interpolation, a method still preferred by some banks and also offered by commercial software vendors, creates several problems and therefore makes simple exponential interpolation a more logical choice. Linear interpolation provides a good approximation of exponential interpolation for a sufficiently dense time grid

A nonstructural polypeptide encoded by immediate-early transcription unit 1 of murine cytomegalovirus is recognized by cytolytic T lymphocytes

We have constructed target cells by cotransfection of the MHC gene Ld and fragments of murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) DNA coding for nonstructural immediate-early (IE) proteins. Transfectants were tested by using CTL clone IE1 with specificity for an IE epitope presented in association with Ld. Data show that clone IE1 recognizes a product of the ie1 transcription unit of MCMV, and that its specificity is shared by approximately 25% of polyclonal IE-specific CTL. The results provide the first definite evidence that expression of a herpes virus IE gene encoding a regulatory protein gives rise to antigen expression detectable by specific CT

Siglec receptors impact mammalian lifespan by modulating oxidative stress.

Aging is a multifactorial process that includes the lifelong accumulation of molecular damage, leading to age-related frailty, disability and disease, and eventually death. In this study, we report evidence of a significant correlation between the number of genes encoding the immunomodulatory CD33-related sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like receptors (CD33rSiglecs) and maximum lifespan in mammals. In keeping with this, we show that mice lacking Siglec-E, the main member of the CD33rSiglec family, exhibit reduced survival. Removal of Siglec-E causes the development of exaggerated signs of aging at the molecular, structural, and cognitive level. We found that accelerated aging was related both to an unbalanced ROS metabolism, and to a secondary impairment in detoxification of reactive molecules, ultimately leading to increased damage to cellular DNA, proteins, and lipids. Taken together, our data suggest that CD33rSiglecs co-evolved in mammals to achieve a better management of oxidative stress during inflammation, which in turn reduces molecular damage and extends lifespan

The SARS-coronavirus-host interactome

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are important human and animal pathogens that induce fatal respiratory, gastrointestinal and neurological disease. The outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002/2003 has demonstrated human vulnerability to (Coronavirus) CoV epidemics. Neither vaccines nor therapeutics are available against human and animal CoVs. Knowledge of host cell proteins that take part in pivotal virus-host interactions could define broad-spectrum antiviral targets. In this study, we used a systems biology approach employing a genome-wide yeast-two hybrid interaction screen to identify immunopilins (PPIA, PPIB, PPIH, PPIG, FKBP1A, FKBP1B) as interaction partners of the CoV non-structural protein 1 (Nsp1). These molecules modulate the Calcineurin/NFAT pathway that plays an important role in immune cell activation. Overexpression of NSP1 and infection with live SARS-CoV strongly increased signalling through the Calcineurin/NFAT pathway and enhanced the induction of interleukin 2, compatible with late-stage immunopathogenicity and long-term cytokine dysregulation as observed in severe SARS cases. Conversely, inhibition of cyclophilins by cyclosporine A (CspA) blocked the replication of CoVs of all genera, including SARS-CoV, human CoV-229E and -NL-63, feline CoV, as well as avian infectious bronchitis virus. Non-immunosuppressive derivatives of CspA might serve as broad-range CoV inhibitors applicable against emerging CoVs as well as ubiquitous pathogens of humans and livestock

High-precision mass measurements of exotic nuclei with the triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP

Scientific Report / Status report 200

Environmental toxins trigger PD-like progression via increased alpha-synuclein release from enteric neurons in mice

Pathological studies on Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients suggest that PD pathology progresses from the enteric nervous system (ENS) and the olfactory bulb into the central nervous system. We have previously shown that environmental toxins acting locally on the ENS mimic this PD-like pathology progression pattern in mice. Here, we show for the first time that the resection of the autonomic nerves stops this progression. Moreover, our results show that an environmental toxin (i.e. rotenone) promotes the release of alpha-synuclein by enteric neurons and that released enteric alpha-synuclein is up-taken by presynaptic sympathetic neurites and retrogradely transported to the soma, where it accumulates. These results strongly suggest that pesticides can initiate the progression of PD pathology and that this progression is based on the transneuronal and retrograde axonal transport of alpha-synuclein. If confirmed in patients, this study would have crucial implications in the strategies used to prevent and treat PDThis work was supported by the Fritz-Thyssen Foundation, theGerman Parkinson’s disease Society and by Amelia Jimenez Gomez as private dono

Two lectures on color superconductivity

The first lecture provides an introduction to the physics of color superconductivity in cold dense quark matter. The main color superconducting phases are briefly described and their properties are listed. The second lecture covers recent developments in studies of color superconducting phases in neutral and beta-equilibrated matter. The properties of gapless color superconducting phases are discussed.Comment: 56 pages, 9 figures. Minor corrections and references added. Lectures delivered at the IARD 2004 conference, Saas Fee, Switzerland, June 12 - 19, 2004, and at the Helmholtz International Summer School and Workshop on Hot points in Astrophysics and Cosmology, JINR, Dubna, Russia, August 2 - 13, 200

Resummation in Hot Field Theories

There has been significant progress in our understanding of finite-temperature field theory over the past decade. In this paper, we review the progress in perturbative thermal field theory focusing on thermodynamic quantities. We first discuss the breakdown of naive perturbation theory at finite temperature and the need for an effective expansion that resums an infinite class of diagrams in the perturbative expansion. This effective expansion which is due to Braaten and Pisarski, can be used to systematically calculate various static and dynamical quantities as a weak-coupling expansion in powers of g. However, it turns that the weak-coupling expansion for thermodynamic quantities are useless unless the coupling constant is very small. We critically discuss various ways of reorganizing the perturbative series for thermal field theories in order to improve its convergence. These include screened perturbation theory (SPT), hard-thermal-loop perturbation theory (HTLPT), the Phi-derivable approach, dimensionally reduced (DR) SPT, and the DR Phi-derivable approach.Comment: 82 pages, 20 figures; v2 - typos corrected, references adde